Two neo-nazi roommates killed for disrespecting Muslim faith

Dramatic developments shook Tampa as a Florida man, Devon Arthurs, shot two of his neo-nazi roommates on 19 may.

Arthurs, 18, told the police that he had recently converted to Islam and was living with three roommates who followed neo-nazism.

Arthurs, who himself was also a follower of neo-nazism earlier, alleged that his roommates had disparaged his new religion and blamed them for his actions.

Arthurs was arrested at a smoke shop, where he briefly held three people at gunpoint.

After surrendering to officers, Arthurs conceded that he had already killed people in an apartment across the street.

The police found bodies of Jeremy Himmelman (22) and Andrew Oneschuk (18) with gunshot wounds. They also found a fourth roommate, Brandon Russell, outside the apartment 'crying and visibly upset,' according to the Washington Post.

According to the New York Times, the affidavit stated that 'all four roommates had been friends, with a common neo-Nazi belief until Arthurs's recent conversion to Islam.'

The police also recovered Nazi and white supremacist propaganda, firearms and ammunition as well as materials used to construct bombs from a garage below the apartment. The New York Times reported that the police found explosives, including ammonium nitrate in a package addressed to Russell.

Russell was also arrested on 21 may, where upon he conceded that he belonged to Atomwaffen, a neo-Nazi group. He stated that he was planning to use the recovered materials to "boost homemade rockets and to send balloons into the atmosphere for testing," according to the New York Times. The F.B.I. repeatedly expressed skepticism on the explanation.

Arthurs has been charged without bail on two counts of murder, two accounts of aggravated assault and three counts of armed kidnapping.

-ANI